River Ribble
The River Ribble at Ribchester
Origin	Confluence of Gayle Beck and Cam Beck, Selside
Mouth	Irish Sea at Lytham
Basin countries	England
Length	75 miles (121 km)
Source elevation	246 m (807 ft)

The River Ribble is a river that runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire, in northern England. The river's drainage basin also includes parts of Greater Manchester around Wigan.

Geography[link]

The Ribble begins at the confluence of the Gayle Beck and Cam Beck near the famous viaduct at Ribblehead, in the shadow of the Yorkshire three peaks.

It flows through Settle, Clitheroe, Ribchester and Preston, before emptying into the Irish Sea between Lytham St. Annes and Southport, a length of 75 miles (121 km).

The main tributaries of the Ribble are the Hodder and Calder which join the river near Great Mitton, the River Darwen which joins at Walton-le-Dale and the River Douglas which joins near Hesketh Bank.

The Ribble Way is a long-distance footpath which follows the river for much of its course. The Ribble marked the northernmost extent of the ancient kingdom of Mercia.^[1] At the time of the Domesday Book, the river formed the northern boundary of an area of land (known as Inter Ripam et Mersam) that was included in the Domesday information for Cheshire,^[2] though it was probably not formally part of the county of Cheshire.^[3][4][5]

The river is connected to both the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the Lancaster Canal (via the Ribble Link). The river downstream of Preston was actively dredged when Preston was an active port; this is no longer done and silt from the river is now spreading more widely over the (sand) beaches around Fairhaven and St. Annes.

Its estuary forms part of the Ribble and Alt Estuaries Special Protection Area for wildlife.

The Normal Tidal Limit (NTL) of the river is at Fishwick Bottoms, between Preston and Walton-le-Dale.

Public works[link]

The River Ribble catchment is covered by the Mersey Basin Campaign, a partnership which was established in 1985 to improve water quality and encourage waterside regeneration.

Preston City Council have published controversial plans to build a barrage across the River Ribble, in their 'Riverworks' proposals. The aim of these proposals is to build a water sports park on a section of the Ribble, coupled with over 4000 units of high quality housing and businesses in the river's flood plain. Some local residents are opposing these plans, arguing that they endanger wildlife, increase flood risk to local housing and damage greenbelt areas. These residents have set up the 'Save The Ribble' campaign. Parts of the river are a County Biological Heritage Site.

The Ribble would appear to have been known in Roman times as the Belisama,^[6] possibly giving its name to Samlesbury. Ptolemy's "Belisama aest." seems to represent the estuary of the Ribble.

History[link]

The banks of the Ribble have been posited as a possible location for King Arthur's tenth battle, on the banks of a river "Tribruit", as alluded to in his Historia Brittonum by Nennius.^[7]

Settlements[link]

Horton in Ribblesdale

Stainforth

Giggleswick

Settle

Halton West

Nappa

Paythorne

Sawley

West Bradford

Clitheroe

Great Mitton

Ribchester

Samlesbury

Walton-le-Dale

Preston

Penwortham

Tarleton

Hundred End

Banks

Lytham

River Hodder

River Calder

River Darwen

River Douglas

Lancaster Canal

Leeds and Liverpool Canal

Shown with other rivers and canals in Lancashire

North Yorkshire[link]

• Horton in Ribblesdale
• Stainforth
• Stackhouse
• Langcliffe
• Giggleswick
• Settle
• Halton West
• Nappa

Lancashire[link]

• Paythorne
• Sawley
• West Bradford
• Horrocksford
• Clitheroe
• Great Mitton
• Little Town
• Ribchester
• Samlesbury
• Walton-le-Dale
• Preston
• Penwortham
• Tarleton
• Hundred End
• Banks
• Lytham

Main Tributaries[link]

Tidal bore on the Ribble, between the River Douglas and Preston

• River Douglas or River Asland
• Savick Brook
• River Darwen
• Stydd Brook
• Dinckley Brook
• River Calder
• River Hodder

Name[link]

The River Ribble gives its name to the local government borough of Ribble Valley and the Ribble Valley parliamentary constituency, as well as the Borough of South Ribble. The Ribble Bus Company once operated throughout North West England. The Ribble also lends its name to the Ribble Steam Railway, Ribble Cycles, a bicycle manufacturer based in Preston, and Ribble Valley Inns.

References[link]

Notes[link]

The RIver Ribble bursts its banks in the 1990s leading pleople to flee their homes and streets. Lorries had no choice but to drive through the accessing road.

Bibliography[link]

• Crosby, A. (1996). A History of Cheshire. (The Darwen County History Series.) Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Phillimore & Co. Ltd. ISBN 0-85033-932-4.
• Harris, B. E., and Thacker, A. T. (1987). The Victoria History of the County of Chester. (Volume 1: Physique, Prehistory, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Domesday). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-722761-9.
• Hutton, R. (1991) The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles, Oxford : Blackwell, ISBN 0-631-17288-2
• Morgan, P. (1978). Domesday Book Cheshire: Including Lancashire, Cumbria, and North Wales. Chichester, Sussex: Phillimore & Co. Ltd. ISBN 0-85033-140-4.
• Phillips A. D. M., and Phillips, C. B. (2002), A New Historical Atlas of Cheshire. Chester, UK: Cheshire County Council and Cheshire Community Council Publications Trust. ISBN 0-904532-46-1.
• Greenhalgh, M (2009). Ribble: river and valley, a local and natural history. Lancaster, Carnegie Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85936-135-1.

Further reading[link]

• D. J. Assinder, S. M. Mudge, and G. S. Bourne (1997). "Radiological assessment of the Ribble estuary—I. Distribution of radionuclides in surface sediments". Journal of Environmental Radioactivity (Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.) 36 (1): 1–19. DOI:10.1016/S0265-931X(96)00073-2. 
• S. M. Mudge, G. S. Bourne, and D. J. Assinder (1997). "Radiological assessment of the Ribble estuary—II. Beta and gamma dose rates and doses to critical groups". Journal of Environmental Radioactivity (Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.) 36 (1): 21–41. DOI:10.1016/S0265-931X(96)00074-4. 
• S. M. Mudge, D. J. Assinder, and G. S. Bourne (1997). "Radiological assessment of the Ribble estuary—III. Redistribution of radionuclides". Journal of Environmental Radioactivity (Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.) 36 (1): 43–67. DOI:10.1016/S0265-931X(96)00075-6. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: River Ribble

• Riverworks
• http://save-the-ribble.blogspot.com/
• http://www.ribbletrust.org.uk/

Coordinates: 53°45′N 2°46′W / 53.75°N 2.767°W / 53.75; -2.767

v t e Rivers and watercourses of Lancashire Rivers Blakewater Brock Brun Calder (Ribble) Calder (Wyre) Chor Cocker Conder Darwen Don Douglas Dunsop Greta Grizedale Hindburn Hyndburn Hodder Irwell Keer Laneshaw Lostock Loud Lune Ogden Ribble Roddlesworth Roeburn Spodden Tawd Wenning Wyre Yarrow Canals Lancaster Leeds & Liverpool Ribble Link Others Artle Beck Bashall Brook Black Brook Bradshaw Brook Broad Fleet Colne Water Eagley Brook Freckleton Pool Green Withins Brook Hyndburn Brook Leck Beck Naden Brook Pendle Water Pendleton Brook Sabden Brook Skirden Beck Stock Beck Stydd Brook Wycoller Beck